Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has declared Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada his preferred candidate to succeed him as governor of Nasarawa State in the 2027 general election.
Describing the senator as the embodiment of the Muje Maha spirit that has guided his administration’s approach to governance and political inclusivity.
Governor Sule made the declaration on Thursday during a meeting with political appointees and heads of government agencies at the Government House, where he explained in detail the process that led him to settle on Senator Wadada as the APC’s most suitable governorship candidate for 2027.
According to him, the process of identifying a successor had been ongoing for over a year, involving wide consultations that went beyond the boundaries of Nasarawa State.
He said the consultations included discussions with foreign and prospective investors, youth groups, women organisations, traditional rulers, party officials and various stakeholders from across the state’s three senatorial zones, as well as selected members of his cabinet.
“We have to look for people who have the capacity to be able to win this election,” the Governor said.
He explained that after exhaustive consultations, the field was eventually narrowed to three aspirants, each of whom was considered capable of winning, adding that further consultations were conducted before a final decision was reached in favour of Senator Wadada.
Governor Sule said the aspirants from Nasarawa West had also raised the matter of equitable distribution of elective positions between the two federal constituencies that make up the zone, noting that since the governorship would go to one constituency, they were requesting that senatorial and other legislative positions be distributed to reflect the interests of the other constituency as well.
The Governor said he had no objection whatsoever to that request and gave his full support to the arrangement, urging his appointees to assist in working it out.
He added that the same principle of collective support must extend to the APC’s senatorial candidates, House of Representatives candidates and State House of Assembly candidates, stressing that all elective positions must be approached with the same level of unity and commitment.
Turning to his political appointees, Governor Sule acknowledged that some of them had privately supported various aspirants through the process, saying he understood this as human nature.
He however reminded them that the Muje Maha principle they had all professed demanded that personal preferences now be set aside in favour of collective support for Senator Wadada and all other APC candidates across every elective position.
“Now all the support, if we are sincere about the so-called Muje Maha, now it is the period that Muje Maha is Wadada,” the Governor said.